Can I and will you tell me how,,?(bog garden questions)

13 years ago

We have a large pond, about 6000 gallons, so last year we upgraded our 100 gallon skippy filter to 150 gallon, this along with our waterfall filter does a pretty good job, so my question, is can I take my old 100 gallon stock tank, and make a bog garden out of it, and daisy chain it into the 150 gallon tank, so water would run from pond into 100 gallon bog then into 150 gallon skippy and into pond, would this work,,and how can i make bog garden out of this tank, i have never made a bog garden before, and am leaving for work now, so great minds get together,,,an leave me lots of awesome ideas,,thanks

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Comments (3)

ponderpaul
13 years ago
The tub that the water is running out of is the bottom portion of a two stage preformed pool. This is pic is about two months old and the hyacinths are looking great now. Just one piece of advise - what ever you decide to do, keep the bog pond relatively shallow for ease of an annual cleaning!
{{gwi:227665}}
Ella5
13 years ago
Zone 4, Tucson AZ Sonoran Desert
I had been planning on a very similar setup for my own situation, which is a concrete pool of about 25000 gallons. Up until yesterday (Dec. 24, 2010), that is, when I went to a local nursery to see water plants, as my eyes and brain had gotten weary of reading and trying to understand how things go together.

The man at the nursery told me of bog gardens, and I'm pretty sure that is the way I'll go. He told me to google Nelsons Water Gardens (www.nelsonwatergardens.com ) and read about their bog filtering system. Look under "Nelson Know-how". THAT's what I want, that's what will work for me, and that's what I plan to do. Maybe that will answer a lot of your questions.

I came here today to ask questions about construction materials, since I'm on a budget.

Since a bog garden should be about 12'deep, according to Nelson, and the stock tanks are deeper, you will lose a lot of the visual beauty and reason for the bog.
Consider eliminating both stock tanks, and replacing them with a bog type system. The stock tanks will hold and keep all the nutrients your bog plants need to thrive.
Maybe use one tank as a water catchment and filter for rain water from your roof before allowing that water to go into your pond.

Maybe use the other to filter your laundry gray water before sending it via a rock strewn plant filled stream, into your bog.

If you do that, be sure to use biodegradable, fragrance free/dye free detergent, and no laundry softeners, liquids or sheets, of any kind. Did you know that those things damage your clothes? In fact, wash new clothes separately from those with which you have used those products for a few washes, so any remaining residue won't transfer to the new items.
Ella5
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How deep is this sink?? I would check out a local pet shop and snag one of those foam filters for fish tanks and use it to plug the drain hole in the sink as it will let the water out but not the substrate. The substrate should be 50 50 river sand and peat moss. You can plant live sphagnum into it. It will look nice but be sure it gets 2 to 3 hours of direct sun, preferably in early morning or late afternoon unless you are up in the northern USA then mid day is fine. Do not overplant!! Probably just 3-5 species of carnivorous plants and nothing else apart from live sphagnum and you will have a nice bog.
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I'll tolerate a certain amount of 'weeds'. It really depends upon what they are and how dominant they want to be. I was hesitant to pull much until I remembered that the whole thing is really for the Darlingtonia's and everything else came second. After that, pulling stuff out became easier to do. Many of the ephemerals I encourage, like this mixture of ferns, mosses, grasses and Dodecatheon. The grasses help to provide shade during summer and the others just give contrast and depth to the setup. I've had certain grasses and tree seedlings try to set up shop. They have to be dug out early on. The roots can really be tenacious. It freezes solid for a lot of the winter, but with the rainstorm that's curently here, it's fully wet. I really need to move to the larger tub, before the next growth cycle. The runners are trying to spread out through the drainage holes. This is what I'm aiming for! :~) I've tried to encourage a more natural look about it and not fuss over minor detail that much. At least, after everything was in place where I wanted it! ;~) Scott
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Ella5
13 years ago
Zone 4, Tucson AZ Sonoran Desert
Again, according to Nelson's, gravel bogs do not need cleaned every year, IIRC.

It occurred to me that some bog plants are either very invasive, or pretty tall, and want more water than others. You could use one of your stock tanks for those types. Divert some pond water into it first, but allowing the majority of the water to flow directly into the shallower bog.

This is giving me an idea for mine. Because my bog will have to be so large, I am considering combining 2 of his forms, the waterfall, (the raised) and the perimeter. I thought of having my fall sort of in the middle and diverting water in 2-3 direstions: both sides, and a lesser one directly toward the pond. some water from one side could be channelled into the tank at the side, and from there, overflow via tube into the bog. The tank and it's contents would help hide the buildup for the fall.

If you'd rather have the tank in a different place, you could still do it. Capture some of the water via a pvc tube stuck into higher up into the waterfall and let it flow by gravity to a distance away and into the tank.
Ella

Can I and will you tell me how,,?(bog garden questions)

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ponderpaul

Ella5

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